For better or worse, richer or poorer, the Eagles have married into college football’s top echelon. Objections were noted and disregarded, and this dissenter agreed to forever hold his peace.

Southern need not honeymoon in the Pedro’s South of the Border of big-time college football conferences, though.

The Sun Belt invitation is coming. The leaders huddle at the league’s basketball tournament this weekend, and they need to elect new members. Georgia Southern will almost certainly be among them. An announcement could come this time next week.

Too bad the Sun Belt is a league that’s been out in the sun too long — a tired, blistering, complainer that nobody wants to hang around, hence the pending exodus of four members. The Sun Belt has no cachet and its members no leverage, unless you count playing Tuesday night games on ESPNU (the U stands for unavailable).

Heck, Barack Obama has been president longer than some Sun Belt member schools have fielded football programs. Other gridiron newcomers, such as Old Dominion, snubbed the Sun Belt to play in higher-profile conferences.

If Georgia Southern is “tired of slummin’” in the Southern Conference, as one angry fan told me last fall, the Eagles better avoid the Sun Belt neighborhood like it’s a crackhouse at the end of a dead-end street.

New division, new league

An NCAA mandate requires Georgia Southern and its fellow bowl wannabes to get an invitation from a bowl conference before they can move up.

One potential loophole exists: Those teams could band together, form their own league and invite themselves.

The list of Division I-A aspirants is a who’s who of quality and tradition-rich small college programs. Georgia Southern. Appalachian State. Delaware. James Madison. Richmond. Chattanooga. Jacksonville State. Villanova.

Alone, each of those programs is nothing more than schedule filler for the Sun Belts and Mid-American Conferences of college football. Together, they could be a new league stacked with natural rivalries and a feasible geographic footprint.

Plus, moving up together ensures competitive balance. Scholarship limits differ between college football’s top level and its second tier, and it takes reclassifying programs time to up their roster talent.

Competing for a conference title and bowl bid, even in a sorry league like the Sun Belt, is an evolutionary process for new members.

Not so in a new league.

Expansion inevitable

The NCAA can’t battle the bulge at college football’s top level much longer.

Current small-college programs like Georgia Southern recognize the ongoing major conference expansion and the pending playoff will change the sport’s dynamic. The Eagles’ current home, the Southern Conference, and comparable leagues will soon become college football’s third tier.

“People do not associate Division I athletics with” Division I-AA football, Georgia Southern Athletic Director Tom Kleinlein said during a function in Savannah last week. “Things are changing every day and the identity and what was created back in 1982 is going by the wayside. ... (We have) a great product, but no one cares about the subdivision.”

Hence the scramble by so many perennial Division I-AA powers, particularly the public schools with large enrollments, to find a place on the top level’s lower rungs. They have to move up to maintain their standing — and to continue to reap the financial windfall of playing games against the big boys

The so-called “guarantee” games have become a major revenue source for the small programs. The playoff, which begins in 2014, will lead super conference teams to stop scheduling the Georgia Southerns of college football. The Big Ten already outlawed Division I-AA games in an effort to improve its members strength of schedule.

Teams in Sun Belt-like conferences will fill those holes and cash those six figure — seven figures in some cases — checks.

The money will push more programs to reclassify. With little room available in existing conferences, new leagues will be proposed.

Georgia Southern could be a founding member of one of those upstart conferences. The Eagles could carve out a new identity in their new division.

Bottom line, anything’s better than the Sun Belt.

Adam Van Brimmer’s column appears each Monday. He blogs several days a week at www.savannahnow.com and also is a social media regular @avanbrimmer on Twitter and Daddy Warbucks on Facebook.

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There are two problems with the idea of starting a new conference with FCS programs that all move up at the same time. One is TIME, and the other is MONEY We need to move now before the FCS becomes even more of an after thought than it already is. The Sunbelt, although it has less money coming in from TV deals than some of the other conferences, would have a much bigger TV deal than a new all former FCS team conference. Let's not kid ourselves, the whole reason to make the move is money and recognition. With the addition of Ga Southern and Appy, the Sunbelt gets two very good programs with great tradition and great fans. The better the product is on the field, the more people will watch. And the more people watch, the more lucrative the next TV deal is going to be. If not, then we set ourselves up in a couple of years to move to another conference that does have a great TV deal.

Georgia Southern has been at the 1-AA level for many years and Georgia Southern have to start thinking bigger it's time for them to move up to the ACC or SEC conference! It can do it! The state of Georgia needs another big division school and Georgia Southen is that school! The southeast part of Georgia needs a major school and it will help bring more exposure and economic opportunities for southeast Georgia and the Savannah region as a whole. So, today lets start lobbying that they move up to the SEC or ACC conference!! I'm getting tired of Georgia just concentrating on Georga Tech and the University of Georgia!

Georgiaboy98: if you think a team (ANY TEAM) can jump directly from I-AA to the SEC or ACC, you don't pay much attention to what's really going on in college athletics. No one cares about I-AA and therefore, no one except for our fans cares about Ga Southern. We will have to get our foot in the door and get a seat at the kiddie table before any big name conference will even acknowledge our existence, let alone allow us to get a portion of their billion dollar buffet.

If FCS Football members want to start a new FBS Conference, they will transition for 5 years as opposed to the 2 year transition required by the NCAA for FCS to an existing conference.

Ga Southern already has better attendance and could probably compete on the field with 63 scholarships better than many schools in the Sun Belt, CUSA, MAC, and MW Conferences.

There are 245 schools playing football in Division 1. Just because ESPN and other media outlets focus primarily on about 70 of those schools doesn't mean the other 175 schools should just stop trying to market their programs to their maximum potential. In 2012, Ga Southern performed better against UGA with 63 scholarships than did Ga Tech with 85. Those extra 22 scholarships along with the "FBS" label will improve our recruiting and competitiveness.

Any FBS Conference will be an improvement over the FCS SoCon. The people of Savannah have been an integral part of Ga Southern's growth and success and FBS Football will just be the beginning of a new chapter recalling the days of Erk Russell playing games at Memorial Stadium.

Wow is all I can say. I know you have a hate for GSU but this really shows it. Heaven forbid a school strive to be something better. We should all bend over and take it from people like you. Stay bottom feeders and look down upon by the likes of people who are FBS grads who know what's best for other schools. I hope your hate consumes you.

The last time I read this moron's column, he said georgia southern had no business moving it's program to the FBS level. Now he thinks he has the answer. Form a new conference. This moron hasn't taken time to review what is involved in forming a new FBS conference and to infer that Chattanooga and Jax State are better conference mates than existing Sunbelt members like Arkansas State, Troy and Louisiana Lafayette just shows why he isn't qualified to be a sports reporter. Perhaps in the future, someone will edit his writings before he makes a complete fool of himself and the SMN once again!

Van dumb A has made the message board of the sunbelt conference, one which Georgia Southern aspires to join. I understand his writings are his opinion but when did the SMN allow someone from outside the Sports Department to become a so -called sports columnist to vent their personal vendetta against Georgia Southern President Brooks Keel?

If I was a member of the SMN sports staff, I had would have some problems with this. After all, his lack of knowledge in sports reporting is beginning to tarnish the reputation of the folks who get paid to report sports for the SMN.

As for the editors, I suppose we'll see a Lifestyles reporter chronicling the next big sports story in your paper!

To the person who said Georgia Southern have to get there foot in the door! What do you mean and you don't see what's going on! Look, Georgia State in Atlanta have a new football program and they are moving into a 1-AA program but, only for a couple years and they are projected to into the ACC or the SEC conference now how fair is that when Georgia Southern's program have been around for about 25 years of more at the 1-AA level. How can a new team come in and leap over Georgia Southern when Georgia Southern is a more established program and deserves to move into the ACC or SEC conference before an upstart Georgia State program. Look, Georgia Southern can do it! What Georgia Southen needs to do is become more aggressive in marketing the program for money and fans. They could do a better job of marketing the Georgia Southern program more aggressive throughout Georgia, South Carolina, and Northen Florida. I say this because i look at the Atlanta Constitution every day and do will only have a small write sometimes about Georgia Southern sports teams in the sports section. It's like Georgia Southern don't exist! If, Georgia Southen go out and get bigger players , aggressively seek out more sponsors, expand their weight program , and expand the stadium to 50,000 - 70,000 seats it can compete and be successful in the ACC or the SEC conference! Look, a lot of locals don't even come out to a Georgia Southern game and that's because i don't believe they reach out the surrounding communities! Look, Georgia Southern played Alabama tough a couple of years ago! That is something they should be able to build off of! One thing , i hope they stop using that outdated option type offence and go to a regular running and passing offence!! So, i challenge the Georgia Southern go for the ACC or SEC and stop thinking small , think big because they have been at the 1-AA for and it's time for some bigger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow...... that's about all I can say to your last comment. Trust me, I see exactly what is going on and have followed realignment very closely over the last couple years. First off, Ga State is NOT projected to go into the ACC or the SEC by anyone who has half a brain and by anyone that actually has a part in the decision. The only reason that they got into the Sunbelt is because they won the location lottery and are located in a major TV market. Second, Ga Southern doesn't get to choose where we go, we have to be invited! No matter how we market ourselves or how many seats our stadium has, NO ONE in the SEC or ACC will EVER invite a team directly from FCS to join them. You are right about one thing, we do need to market ourselves better. One way to do that is to get out of the FCS and get some games on TV so that people outside of south Ga actually know who we are. Your idea that we can jump straight to the SEC or ACC out of the FBS without getting into a smaller FBS conference first is probably one of the dumbest things I have ever read.

I don't know Brooks Keel, and I have nothing personally at stake when it comes to Georgia Southern, so it's safe to say I don't have a "personal vendetta" when it comes to the prez or the school or the football program. I have disagreed with Keel's reasoning for the I-A move in the past and still don't think it is a wise move, but they are going. That being the case, I hope the school ends up in the best position possible once it moves. It is possible to disagree with someone without it being personal, by the way. I disagree with my wife on any number of philosophical issues, so do I have an personal vendetta against her? As for Tony and Don, I'm not sure how they feel about my writing about Georgia Southern, but since my background is in sports (spent 15 years in that department, including two in the role as columnist for this newspaper), I doubt they are troubled by it. They might disagree with my opinion (or they might not), but It's not like I lack the requisite knowledge. And as for Villanova, the school won a I-AA title in 2009. They may not draw particularly well, and they are a basketball school first and foremost, but they have shown in interest in moving up. And given their location (Philly's a pretty good media market), they will be coveted as a member. And never fear, Sun Belt fans, Georgia Southern will be joining your ranks very soon, no matter what this columnist thinks.

The following was posted on the Sun Belt's website by one of their fans:

New conference with no bowl invitations unless they start one. Which costs money that the schools could be spending on new stadiums, facilities, scholarships to compete at FBS level. Or the Sun Belt where you get better opportunities for free.

No automatic bid or tournament share in ANY sport for five years. Or the Sun Belt where you're eligible for automatic bids and revenue shares.

No Group of Five revenue share with a new conference. Or share in potentially millions in revenue with the Sun Belt.

Trying to gather enough members with financial resources to start a new league and hoping another conference, say the Sun Belt, doesn't make your new conference you've invested tens of millions in worthless by offering other members a more attractive deal. Worthless because there probably arent that many programs with the desire to play FBS football with this specific group of schools so bad they're willing to spend tens of millions to do so while demolishing every other athletic program in the process. (Is Richmond REALLY a realistic candidate for a new league like this?) Or the Sun Belt, with a long list of applicants at the door.

Stay in the Southern and FCS for an indefinate period watching fellow members abandon while you wait on some pipe dream. Or the Sun Belt where you can transition and be competitive sooner.

I can't think of one reason Georgia Southern would prefer any other deal to the one about to be offered it. Oh, and it is Sun Belt or bust for Georgia Southern.

I think this is the neighborhood kook who somehow gets to write for the paper in Savannah.